Hogs Prep for Chattanooga at Tuesday?s Practice

BY ANDRES FOCIL

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – After a solid win against North Texas, the Razorbacks returned to action on Tuesday for a 90-minute session in full pads on the practice fields just south of Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium.

“We acted like we were too sore today,” head coach Houston Nutt said. “We need to come out here with a much better frame of mind. We didn’t practice well and we have to have a much better practice tomorrow. They should be very fresh because we didn’t play that much on Saturday. We are going to get it out of them tomorrow. Today wasn’t good. We are going to have a much better day tomorrow.”

Nutt will look to light a fire under his players during practice Wednesday and Thursday before traveling to Little Rock on Friday to face Chattanooga on Saturday.

“It could easily be (that we are underrating an opponent) but you can’t do that,” Nutt said. “We’ll get that message across again. Anybody can beat anybody. You have to take care of the ball. (Anybody can beat anybody) has been proven week after week, especially this year. We have to go back and reiterate that again.”

Marcus Monk made a limited return to practice for the first time since fall camp. Recovering from knee surgery, it is still uncertain when Monk will return to the field fully capable of participating.

“(Marcus Monk) was out here doing a few jogging drills,” Nutt said. “He’s doing a lot of ball drills but he still doesn’t have the strength or ability to really come out of breaks, turn or cut, those types of things.”

“(Jerell Norton) is doing well at punt return,” Nutt said. “He’s doing well with no one around him and no one coming after him. We are going to put him in a tougher situation in the next two days. He’s catching the ball very well.”

Michael Smith returned to practice on Tuesday after being suspended last week for incidents off the field. He returns to his role as a reserve tailback behind Darren McFadden, Felix Jones and Brandon Barnett.

“We are just practicing him and running him this week,” Nutt said. “We’ll see (if he plays against Chattanooga). He’ll make the trip.”

The Razorbacks will be back on the practice field Wednesday afternoon. Log on to www.hogwired.com for continued coverage of Arkansas football.